Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Benjamin Meagher, Psychology
Document Type
Poster
Event Date
4-12-2024
Abstract
Personal space is a concept that was brought into public awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic, when safety precautions were put in place to inhibit natural tendencies to stand particular distances apart. Although a number of variables influence preferred distances (Hayduk, 1983), researchers have yet to evaluate the extent to which people naturally vary in their preferences. This study was designed to investigate preferred personal space during social interactions employing the social relations model (Kenny, 1994). This model proposes that social behavior is explained by three sources of variance: the actor (the tendency to act the same way to all people), the partner (the tendency for all people to act the same way to certain people), and the relationship (the tendency for individuals to act uniquely with certain other individuals). Our analysis seeks to test the relative influence of these three sources of variance on preferred personal distances.
Groups of up to six people participated in a round robin design, in which they took turns interacting with every other group member. After informed consent was acquired, one participant stood at one end of a large room. The other participants then took turns walking down the room to where the single participant was standing to answer a chosen, introductory question. The researchers then recorded the distance between the two participants. Each participant did this three times before a new individual was then moved to the end of the room. After all rounds were over, participants completed a survey designed to assess their familiarity with and impressions of the other participants, using a variation of the Big 5 personality traits. Finally, height and arm span measurements were taken.
We expect the upcoming results to help us to better understand what factors most strongly influence the distances people create and maintain with others.
Recommended Citation
Repository citation: Parsons, Tasia; Kennedy, Tyler; Williams, Erica; Piazza, Marella; and Zago, Lauren, "What’s My Social Distance? Measuring Individual Differences in Personal Space" (2024). 23rd Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2024). Paper 50.
https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/curca_23/50
April 12, 2024. Copyright © 2024 Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
